Love is More
by BorntoFlyFree
Summary: This is because there is waaaay not enough fanfic about Nereus ;) This story is kind of a what-if story of what would have happened if Aisha had not been able to get to Nereus after Tritanus blasted him. Warning: this story has OCs, and probably has spoilers (but really, u shouldn't b reading fanfic if u haven't watched the show yet!) This is me having fun :) Happy Reading!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, so I was thinking: there is waaaaay not enough fanfic about Nereus! He is not in very many episodes, but he is toooootally my favorite character from winx club :) **

**This chapter will really just be back-story, but the whole story is supposed to be about what would have happened if Aisha had been unable to reach Nereus after Trittanus had blasted him.**

**Warning: Will have OCs, probably some spoilers if you haven't already seen the tv show, and just general foolishness ;) Oh, and it will b a little sappy, 'cause I'm one of those hopelessly romantic people, lol**

**Happy reading! ^_^**

* * *

For many, love is physical attraction, what is seen on the outside is translated into a feeling of lust, which many confuse with love. But for Nereus, love had never been something that drew him to one's outer appearance. In fact, he rarely even noticed one's outside appearance, he saw their hearts. He had always been a quiet, kind merman and many mermaids had developed crushes on him over the years because of his sweet disposition. But Nereus had always gently avoided their advances, for he quite honestly, did not understand what love truly was.

After many years, the girls who had once liked him gave up on ever being more than friends with the gentle prince and instead, they became content with being friends. Everywhere Nereus went, mermaids and mermen alike greeted him with a smile and happy greetings. The young prince was a friend to all... well, all except the one person he wanted to be friends with most in the world. His twin brother, Trittanus.

Trittanus was the opposite of his brother in every way, mean, jealous of his brother, and bitter about just about everything. Ever since the twin princes had been little, Trittanus had been the troublemaker of the two, and had hated his twin whom everyone loved.

The evil prince's jealousy and hatred eventually took over Trittanus's heart, and he became a horrible monster, bent on destroying the Magic Dimension. After many battles, it had finally come down to this one last battle.

Roaring in rage, Nereus charged his monstrous brother, sword outstretched.

Laughing, Trittanus blocked every blow with his three-pronged trident, knowing that his passive brother was no match for his mutated strength, and he knew that Nereus's kind nature would became his downfall.

The crown prince of the underwater realm was fully concentrating on defeating his enemy, blow after blow, blocking and striking. Nothing could stop him from defeating his enemy! That is when he heard it, the high-pitched scream of his beloved cousin, Aisha.

"Aisha!" He screamed and whirled around too see her caught by his brother's mutated minions. Trittanus forgotten, Nereus swam towards his cousin, beating his tail fiercly to propel himself through the water.

Reaching out towards him, Aisha yelled, "Nereus, look out!"

But it was too late. Nereus felt pain course through every part of his body as his brother hit him with the lethal magic from his scepter.

"Aisha," Nereus reached out towards her as his vision went foggy and he saw the minions swimming away with her trapped in their slimy fins.

With a victorious cackle, Tritanus made the magic from his trident throw his brother through the ocean, knowing that Nereus would die within minutes. For no body could take that amount of harm and survive.


	2. Chapter 2

Dying light from the setting sun flickered over the Lost Island of Andross. An apparition walked along the beach, staring out at the stormy sea.

"Trouble brews in the deep," She whispered and reached out, wishing with all her might that she could help the worlds the way she had once been able to. Sighing, she turned and glided along the water's edge, her white dress billowing like fog against the sad. Shading her eyes against the light, a flash of violet caught her eye.

Hurrying to the shallows, she spotted what appeared to be a man. He was unconscious, and half-submerged in the water, his purple hair billowing around him as it floated in the water. Unfortunately, that was not the only thing clouding the water around him, there was also an ugly cloud of blood surrounding his broken body.

Gasping, the apparition splashed through the salty water, wincing as the salty water burned her feet and ankles. Grabbing hold of the man, she lifted him out of the water and jumped into the air, beating her wings to get away from the burning water.

"Oh no," She mumbled as she looked down at the man in her arms, "He is mer." _He will dry out if he is kept out of the water too long._ Her thoughts ran as she lay the merman upon the white sand of the beach. Pressing her ear to his chest, she mumbled, "Oh goodness, he's not breathing!"

Letting power grow in her palm, she pressed her hands to his chest and shot the energy down into his heart. Gasping, the merman's body spasmed and he took a deep breath. Breathing in a sigh of relief, she leaned over to listen to his heart beat, which was now beating steadily..

Gathering him up into her arms, she flew the short distance inland to where she knew was a deep cave. The cave was dark inside with glowing rocks embedded in the walls. The rocky ground was dry enough to where she could walk through it without getting her feet wet, but there were also deep potholes which were nearly invisible in the dim light. A fresh water spring was located somewhere underneath the cave and pumped clear water up through the holes in the cave floor. In some places, there were pockets of sulfer hidden in the rocks which mixed with the spring water to make tiny hot springs. The cave was an anomaly, filled with both hot water springs and water so cold, it was almost painful to touch.

Striding to the back of the cave, the apparition knelt next to one of the shallower dips in the stone floor, this one holding clear, cold water. Holding the merman in her lap, she carefully ran her partially see-through hands over his broken body, looking for where all the blood she had seen in the water had come from. She quickly found three gaping wounds on his body, which were caked with sand and filthy pollution. One of the wounds was down his arm, another across his back, and the last, down his rib cage.

"Poor thing," She murmured, "What could have happened?"

Looking from the wounds on the merman to her own hands and feet which had acquired angry red welts, she sighed. Easing the unconscious merman into the shallow water, she ran her hand over his silky green tail as she murmured,"I will be right back," And raced out of the cave.


	3. Chapter 3

Pain flooded Nereus's head as he struggled to wake up. Blinking his eyes, he tried to see through the fog which clouded his eyes. Shifting his position, he yelped at the pain which seemed to fill every cell in his body. Frowning in surprise, he moved his tail slightly and felt it chafe against smooth stone.

By this time, Nereus's eyesight had cleared enough for him to be able to tell that he was laying in a shallow pond inside of a cave. Panic filled him as he looked around his prison, thinking that Tritanus had brought him here. A shadow blocked the light from the cave's entrance and he closed his eyes to mere cracks so that it would appear he was still unconscious.

Peering out through his long eyelashes with his still-fuzzy eyesight, Nereus watched as the figure slowly walked towards him. _It must be the Trix._ He panicked slightly. _Come to finish me off._

The figure leaned over Nereus and he lashed out without warning, taking the figure by surprise. Punching her arm, he heard her cry out and instantly fell still, he did not recognize her voice.

"Hey, cut it!" The girl grabbed his fists in her small hands. He could have easily broken her hold, but was to startled to.

"I...I'm sorry," He stuttered, "I thought..."

"That I was going to harm you? Don't worry, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of restarting your heart just to kill you now."

"You, what?" Nereus gasped, then gripped his arm with a groan as pain laced up into his shoulder.

"Hey, hold still," The girl mumbled as she wrapped one arm under his tail and the other behind his back, lifting him out of the water.

"What are you doing?" Nereus asked in a hoarse voice as he leaned against her chest, to exhausted to protest how she was holding him.

"Calm down," The girl murmured, "You were injured pretty bad, I'm just going to help you."

Pulling over the bundle she had dropped when Nereus had attacked her, the girl pulled out a jar of herbs. "I'm sorry, this will sting a little," she whispered as she began rubbing them into his wounds.

Wincing, he tightened his grip on her and shivered slightly. Once she had bound the wounds, she eased him back into the pool of water. "Are you alright in there?" She asked, "I don't know much about the mer, I know you have to be in water... But this isn't salt water, is that alright?"

"Yes, thank you." Nereus nodded sleepily and stared at her intently.

"What is it?"

"I think my vision is still fuzzy... I can't see your face clearly." Frowning, he realized that not only was he unable to see her face clearly, but he could also see the wall of the cave _through_ her body.

"It's not your vision," She shrugged, "It's just me. I have a hard time holding onto my tangible form."

"You remind me of..."

"Daphne?"

Nereus startled, "How did you know?"

"Sitting cross-legged next to where Nereus lay, she asked, "Do you want the story?"

"Yes, I would."

"Well, I knew Daphne back before she lost her tangible form. I was much younger than her and followed her around like a puppy. I was one of the village children, she had rescued my from a couple evil men when I was only a toddler and after that, well, she sort of took me under her wing. When I heard that she was going to the Magical Ocean to confront the Ancestral Witches, I wanted to go so badly! But of course, she forbade me to go since I was only ten years old. Not wanting to be left out, I... uh... borrowed a spell to let me breath under water and followed her without her knowing. Daphne and her best friend went to the ocean and I followed, and saw everything. I saw as Daphne's friend refused to aid her and was turned into a dragon because of her blackened heart. I also saw Daphne loose her form. What most don't realize, was that the curse was not only directed at Sirenix, it was directed at every living thing nearby. Most think it was directed towards Sirenix because the two Sirenix fairies were cursed. No one realized that I was there, and I received the back lash of magic and was thrown out of the wwaters and onto this island. Daphne took the brunt, she has no tangible form whatsoever, she is only an apparition. I am somewhere in between... My form... flickers."

"So, sometimes you are solid, and sometimes not?" Nereus cocked his head to the side. "That is all the magic did to you?"

Staring down at her welted hands which she had bandaged earlier, she bit her lip and lied, "Yes."

"Then why can't I see your face?"

Blushing, the girl shrugged, "Believe me, you do not want to see my face." Standing up quickly, she smiled, "I am going to go get you some food, try to rest."

She walked towards the entrance, but before she could leave, Nereus called, "Wait!" When she paused mid-step and turned back to look at him, he turned red with embarrassment and mumbled, "My-y name is Nereus."

"Nereus?" She grinned, "My name is Seraphina."


	4. Chapter 4

Nereus stayed with Seraphina for three days. She stayed by his side that entire time, making sure that his wounds did not become worse. At the end of the third day, Seraphina was staring into a magic pool in the farthest depths of her cave when she saw something that rattled her.

It was another merman, this one looked almost identical to Nereus, except angrier and he was in chains. The chained merman was floating before a throne in which sat a proud looking merman with a white beard and a crown upon his brow.

"Tritanus," The mer king was saying, "I charge you with the death of hundreds of people, the spilling of pollution into Earth's oceans, and the murder of your brother, Nereus." The king's voice broke on the name. Beside him, the mer queen and a young mermaid broke into tears, hugging each other tightly.

Breaking the connection with the magical vision, Seraphina turned away with thoughts raging in her head. Striding over to where Nereus lay in the shallow water, fast asleep, Serahina sat next to him silently. Twenty minutes later, Nereus blinked his eyes open and looked up to smile at her.

Frowning, Seraphina crossed her see-through arms. "You didn't tell me that you were a prince."

A panicked look crossed Nereus's face, "Whaaaat? How did you..."

"Magic window."

"Yeah," Nereus's shoulders slumped, "I am the crown prince."

"And your brother?"

"My twin. The one person who I really wanted to love me, but all Tritanus ever felt towards me was hatred."

"I'm sorry." Seraphina hugged him gently. "I saw in my magic window that your whole family thinks you are dead. Is that how you ended up on my beach? Did your brother try to kill you?"

"Yes." A tear ran down Nereus's cheek and Seraphina gently wiped it away.

"Listen," She sighed. "I don't like you leaving here so soon, especially since you are still so injured... But it is time for you to go back to your family. They need you right now, it's not right to keep them thinking you are dead."

"You are right."

A single tear ran down Seraphina's cheek as she gently picked Nereus up and carried him towards the shore.

"Seraphina?"

"Huh?" She grunted.

"Why don't you fly more often?"

Sighing, she beat her wings gently, remembering the way her wings once felt as they moved her through the sky. "I once had large, powerful wings. I am not a fairy, I am an avian. The curse I received faded my beautiful wings, now they can only hold me for very short distances before I drop like a stone. That is partially why this island is also my prison."

As she finished, they reached the water line and Seraphina hopped across a couple rocks to reach slightly deeper water where she could leave Nereus.

Laughing, he dived into the water, relishing the feeling of swimming again. "Seraphina," He pulled himself up onto the rock she was sitting on. "Come with me! I know I spell so that you can breath under water, you need not be trapped here anymore." As he finished, he reached out and grabbed her hands.

Yelping as his wet hands touched her dry ones, she yanked them out of his grip and he looked on with a startled, hurt expression. "I'm sorry Nereus," She stuttered. "I cannot go with you. I did not tell you the truth, the magic that hit me did more than just make me loose my form, it also made it so that I can no longer touch ocean water." Holding out her hands, she showed him the red welts that were forming on her wrists from where he had touched her.

"Seraphina!" He exclaimed and reached out as if to grasp her hands, thought better of it, and let his hands fall. Looking at her intently, he made her a promise, "I swear to you Seraphina! I WILL break this curse!"


	5. Chapter 5

Bubbles floated up in lazy circles through the crystal blue ocean. Everything seemed peaceful, the clownfish hiding in the sea anemone, the schools of brightly colored fish hurrying too and fro, avoiding the emerald seaweed which whipped back and forth as if hoping to ensnare some unlucky sea life in its clutches.

Nereus gripped his side as pain coursed through his body, struggling to push himself through the waters. Every flick of his tail made the wounds in his back and side push shooting pain through his body.

He knew that he should not have left Seraphina's care so soon, but he had had no choice, his family needed him, and that was that. He could not allow his family to think that they had lost two sons in as many days.

"Need, to, get, home." Nereus spoke quietly to himself, trying to spur himself on. "Need to be with Tressa. And mother and father."

His body convulsed and Nereus curled up into a ball, sinking down to the ocean's floor, the prince's breath came in shallow gasps as he tried to find the strength to go on. His hands sunk in the white sand as he pushed himself up, flicking his powerful tail to propel himself forward.

"Must get home," He murmured, "Must get home."

"Nereus!" Three high pitched voices grabbed his attention and he turned around with a weary smile.

"Selkies!" He exclaimed, glad to see the silly, happy creatures swimming towards him.

"You're alive!" The guardian of the Andross gate exclaimed, hugging his shoulder with her tiny body.

"If he say so," He joked, earning a small laugh from the three guardians.

His vision grew blurry and the prince covered his face with his hands, trying desperately to remain conscious. Groaning, Nereus's body collapsed and he floated down to the ocean floor, raising a puff of sand as he hit the ground.

"Nereus!" The three selkies swam after him and the guardian of the Domino gate checked the prince's pulse before turning back to the guardian of Andross. "Go! Get help! Tell king Neptune what has happened!"

"Right away!" The selkie exclaimed before swimming off in a flurry of bubbles.

* * *

Darkness covered Nereous like a cloak, blocking out all light, sight, and sound. He didn't know how long he had been laying unconscious when words began to reach him.

_Nereus_. The word floated in the prince's ears like words from a forgotten dream. "Nereus!" His name was called again, and this time he realized that someone was shaking him, trying to get him to wake up.

Groaning, he blinked his eyes open, staring into the faces of his sister and cousin.

Seeing his eyes open, Tressa exclaimed, "Nereus! You're alive!"

"Tressa." Nereus reached forward hesitantly towards his sister, as if doubting that she was real.

Bursting into tears, she wrapped her arms around her brother, crying hysterically. "I thought I had lost both of my brothers!" She cried.

"Don't worry my little starfish," He mumbled, using his childhood name for her, "It takes more than a weak strike from Trittanus to kill me."

The princess laughed, a little too hysterically, and Nereus turned to his cousin. Laying his gentle hand against Aisha's cheek. he mumbled, "Oh beautiful cousin, how glad I am that you are alright."

"I am now," Aisha swiped at her eyes as her tears floated around her, "Now that we found you." Letting the tears flow freely, she wrapped her arms around her two cousins.

Wiping the tears from their eyes, the two princesses pulled Nereus's arms over their shoulders and swam off with him supported between them.

It took almost twenty minutes to reach the palace. Nereus wasn't much help and the girls had to fully support him most of the time while he faded in and out of consciousness.

As soon as they came in sight of the royal city, mermen and mermaids alike rushed them- instantly recognizing the figure the two princesses supported between them.

"Allow us Your Highnesses," Two mermen bowed to the princesses before taking Nereus-who was now fully unconscious- out of their arms.

"Thanks," Aisha groaned, rubbing her shoulder.

Nodding, the two mermen rushed off with the prince.

Tressa stared after them, crying silently.

"He'll be alright." A mermaid wrapped her arm around the princess.

"How do you know?" Tressa mumbled, flicking her tail in worry.

Pausing, the mermaid stared after the retreating figures who carried the prince, "I don't."


	6. Chapter 6

When Nereus awoke, he was laying in his bed with his torso wrapped in seaweed. "What happened?" He muttered.

"Nereus!" A gentle voice cried and the Mer prince turned to look at his mother, who was sitting beside him, gripping his hand.

"Hello mother," He grinned, "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Oh my brave, foolish child!" The queen cried, embracing her son.

Wincing, Nereus patted her back gently, "It's okay Mother, I'm alright."

"But you almost weren't." The queen gripped his hand, "Baby, we thought you were dead."

"I know mother, but at least I'm back."

At that moment, a knock at the door startled the prince and the queen. "Come in," She called and a merman peeked in.

"Forgive me Your Majestys," The guard bowed, "But it is time for Trittanus's trial. Her Majesty is needed."

"I need to be there as well!" Nereus exclaimed, trying to push himself up.

"No my son!" the queen exclaimed. "You are too injured still, you will never be able to make it through all of that."

"Mother!" Both the queen and the guard jumped, no one had heard the gentle prince raise his voice before. Biting his lip, Nereus spoke quieter, "I'm sorry mother, but I cannot stay here. Trittanus is not just my brother, he is my twin. The bond between twins is something special, and besides, Trittanus is the one who did this to me, I need to see him. I need to know that... that he really is lost to us."

Rubbing her temples, the queen nodded, "You are right Nereus, yes, you must come. But you must agree to a couple things."

"Anything!"

"Alright, you are **not** to swim about more than absolutely necessary."

"Agreed."

"If you start feeling worse, you are to go home **immediately**."

"Agreed."

"Alright then." The queen pulled Nereus up, supporting part of his weight.

"It's alright mother, I can swim on my own," Nereus flicked his tail back and forth, only wincing slightly.

The queen nodded, "One more thing." She flicked her fingers and the wounds covering Nereus's body seemed to disappear.

"Amazing," He muttered to himself, "A hologram."

"The wounds aren't gone, just covered. After all that has happened, our kingdom can't show that it is weak."

"And I am the crown prince, so I can't be weak, I understand."

Grinning, the queen nodded, "That's my boy."

* * *

Later, Nereus and Tressa were sitting on the steps which led up to their cousin's castle. They watched quietly the human king, their uncle, confronted Trittanus. Rubbing his sister's shoulder gently, Nereus watched as his twin brother was sentenced to exile.

As the royal family swam away, Nereus turned to look at his brother, "Trittanus," He gulped, "Have you any last words?"

Looking at his gentle brother with pure hatred,Trittanus spat, "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

Trying desperately not to cry at the words, Nereus nodded and turned away. He, Tressa, and the Winx followed Trittanus and his guards as he was sent into oblivion. As Trittanus disappeared, Bloom used her wish to reverse the curse cast by the three ancient witches.

Nereus stared in awe as the golden, glowing siren, Daphne, turned back into the way she had once been- human. His heart leaping, Nereus's thoughts instantly went to another who had been affected by the curse.

_I swear to you Seraphina,_ he thought to himself, _I will return to you someday._

Gripping his sister's hand, Nereus swam back to his cousin's palace to celebrate with his restored family.

"Are you alright brother?" Tressa asked as they listened to the Winx perform. "I didn't think our healing spells worked on the wounds caused by Trittanus- what with the pollution and everything.

"They don't, mother cast a hologram spell over me so that I would appear fine."

"Oh!" Tressa exclaimed with concern, "Do you want to go back now?"

"I'm fine Tressa," Nereus lied, "I don't need to be taken care of. I am crown prince, I can take care of myself."

"Uh... huh..." The mermaid princess frowned. "I know brother, but still... I worry about you, the pollution affects us in powerful ways, you should rest."

"Please sister," Nereus gripped Tress'a hand gently, "Do not worry about me, I will be fine."

A couple hours later, the royal mer family swam home. As soon as they got to the palace, Nereus swam groggily through the halls to his room.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Nereus dispersed the magic hologram around himself. Looking down at the deep wound streaking over his side, he hissed quietly when he saw how bad the wound had become. The area around his side was inflamed and had turned a nasty green color, ringed in black and purple as if bruised.

"It'll be alright," He mumbled to himself. "I just need to rest."

Laying down, he pulled a blanket of kelp up over himself and drifted into a restless sleep.

A couple hours later, Tressa poked her head into her brother's room. "Nereus?" She whispered, "I wanted to check on you, are you..." Her eyes finally grew accustomed to the darkness and she swam over to were her brother lay. Nereus was mumbling in his sleep and turning about restlessly.

"Brother?" Tressa shook his shoulder, "Nereus, wake up!" But the crown prince did not respond.

Panicking, Tressa yelled, "Guard! Guard, get in here!"

Two guards rushed in and the princess exclaimed, "Quickly! We have to get my brother to the infermory. Now!"

Understanding the urgency of the situation the guards held the crown prince between them and rushed out of the room with Tressa following behind. "Please, please be alright." She mumbled to herself frantically, "Please brother, you must be fine!"


	7. Chapter 7

"We must get him to Seraphin Island." The queen flipped her tail anxiously as she looked down at her only remaining son. "It is the only way."

"That is dangerous, my queen," The king lay his hand over her's, trying to comfort her. "We do not know if the legends are real, the only accounts we have are from those who could have very well been delirious when they washed up on that cursed shore."

"What legends, Mother?" Tressa whispered, her hand clenching her brother's."

"Legend of a healer, my daughter. They say that a being of great healing power lives there and all who are deathly injured in the sea will wash up on that island's shore."

"But it is only myth," The king scoffed, "We have no proof of the truth in any of this! No one has ever been able to find it again."

"If we don't try, he will die!" The queen pointed angrily at the unconscious figure of Nereus, "Do not make me lose another son!"

"If this is what we must do, then let us waste no time." Tressa swam up, flicking her tail as hope rose within her. I will go with my brother."

"Very good daughter," The queen nodded proudly and pulled a necklace off from around her neck, a pendant swung from the coral band. "This pendant will take you there, it can only be used in time of the most desperate need. Go, and hurry!"

Placing the pendant around her neck, Tressa wrapped her arms around her brother and intoned an incantation meant to release magic. Pressing her eyes closed tightly, she counted as the sounds around her started to change.

After a ten-count, Tressa opened her eyes: they were in wide-open oceans, and in the distance, was a shore! "It worked!" She gasped, swimming quickly towards the island, pulling her brother with her.

When they reached the island, Tressa pulled herself as far up into the shallows as she could and called out, "Healer! I know you are here, please! My brother is dying, he needs your help!"

A couple minutes later, a shadowy figure appeared in the treeline. "Leave him here, and return home! You will not find this island again, I will send him back to you when he is well."

"Come forward so that I may see you!" Tressa demanded suspiciously.

"No." Her voice called from the tree-line. "If you want him healed, you must trust me. I will not come forward until you are gone. And believe me, I will know when you are."

Biting her lip, Tressa looked from her brother, to the open seas, and back again, unsure as to what she should do. Finally, she whispered, "Goodbye Brother," And dove back into the sea, speeding away as fast as her fins could carry her.

As soon as the Mermaid Princess was out of sight, Seraphina stepped forward. Her face and body was concealed under a white cloak and hood, which contrasted starkly with the bright beach. Walking forward carefully, Seraphina reached down into the water to latch her fully-tangible hands around Nereus. Holding him close to her chest, she whispered, "Oh sweet prince, I should not have let you return so soon. Forgive me."

Walking carefully down the beach, she returned, on foot, to the cave where she had kept him before. Kneeling next to the cold pool of water in the cave, she lowered the prince carefully before turning around and hurrying back the way she had come to gather what she needed.

It took less then five minutes to gather her supplies and she hurried back to the cave. Kneeling on the damp ground, she lifted the prince out of the water and lay him on the rough stone floor. Hissing as she got a good look at the would on his side, she shook her head sadly. "Oh no, it has become infected." Looking into Nereus's face anxiously, she gulped, "This will be touch-and-go for a while."

* * *

Nereus blinked his eyes open slowly, trying to figure out where he was. His tail brushed against the rocky edge of the pool of water he was floating in, startling him, he knew were he was. _I'm back in Seraphina's cave._ he thought to himself. _But how did I get here?_

"Seraphina?" He called out hesitantly, "Seraphina are you here?"

A figure stepped out of the shadows, startling him. "I am here Nereus," She spoke softly. She was draped in a white cloak which covered every part of her, he could not see any part of her face because of the deep hood. The only part of her that showed were her bare feet and her golden hair which was pulled through the hood so that it hung in a shining waterfall down to her knees.

"Seraphina? What's going on?"

"I should not have allowed you to leave when I did. You almost died, your sister brought you here."

"Tressa? Is she here?"

"No, I made her leave."

"Seraphina," Nereus reached out to her, "Won't you come closer to me, why do you stand in the shadows like that? You should be overjoyed! The Sirenix curse has been broken, you can touch the ocean again!"

"No," She turned away from him, "I will never leave my island."

"Seraphina," Nereus whispered, "Won't you at least let me see you? I have missed you dreadfully."

Blinking away tears, Seraphina whispered, "I have missed you too Nereus, but I can not leave."

"Why not?"

"I just can't ok!" She yelled as she turned to stalk out of the cave. But before she could move, Nereus lunged forward and grabbed the hem of her cloak, making her fall backwards and the hood fall off.

Crying out, Seraphina covered her face with her hands as she fell into the water and Nereus caught her. "Seraphina," He whispered, curling his tail around her legs. "What is wrong, please look at me."

"No!" She sobbed, trying to push away from him without revealing her face. "Nereus, why are you so cruel to me? Just let me go!"

"I can't let you go," He spoke softly, wrapping his hand in her golden hair. "You are differant than anyone I have ever met, and I am afraid that i have completely fallen in love with you."

"Don't say that!" She sobbed as she wrapped her hands around his neck, crying into his shoulder.

Placing his gentle hand on her heaving back, he tried to calm her down, "Seraphina? Please! Tell me what is wrong."

"Look at me!" She yelled, sitting upright so that he could see her face for the first time. Bawling harder, she added, "Just look at me."

"I am looking at you," He rested his palm over her burned and disfigured cheek. "You are beautiful."

"Don't lie, its unbecoming of a prince," She sniffled, wiping the tears out of her eyes, "I was caught in a fire as a child, it destroyed my face. I'm a monster."

The mer prince ran his finger over the burned and scarred skin on the side of her face. He had never been able to see appearances, he could only see their hearts. And she glowed like none he had ever met. "I am looking at you," He whispered again, "And you are truly beautiful, for your heart shines like diamonds."

Blushing furiously, she wiggled out of his grasp and crawled back onto the solid ground of the cave. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything." He replied, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles, making her turn red again.

Shaking her head as if to clear it, she commanded, "Come on, quit horsing around, I need to check those wounds."

"How long have I been here?" Nereus asked, laying a hand over his bound chest, which didn't hurt nearly as much as it had before.

"You've been unconcious for eight days, I thought you were going to die."


End file.
